How Buffer’s Redesign Exemplifies Always-On Support

Being on all the time isn’t easy. Some will tell you it’s too much work. Some will suggest your time is better spent other ways.

But when you see someone who’s always on, you have to stand in awe.

An example of an always-on company, and more, in today’s Social Media Roundup:

What “Always On” Looks Like

@ShortFormErnie  (opens in a new tab) haha, thanks Ernie that’s awesome 😀 We just want to go that step further 😉 Have a great day! *Joel

— Buffer (@buffer) December 11, 2012  (opens in a new tab)

As you may know, I’m a Buffer  (opens in a new tab) fan. So much so that I’m covering the company two days in a row (opens in a new tab)—in part because it has a redesign that’s out today  (opens in a new tab), which I didn’t know about Monday. But the redesign is besides the point here. Recently, Associations Now’s Mark Athitakis noted a line (opens in a new tab) from last week’s ASAE Technology Conference & Expo that came from Spark Consulting’s Elizabeth Weaver Engel, MA, CAE: “What we’re switching to is more like a hospital mindset. We’ve got to have somebody available to help all the time.” As it turns out, Buffer has a great example of this going on its Twitter feed  (opens in a new tab), where it individually responds to dozens of fans each hour, and staff members are signing each post. Now, whether you agree with Engel’s “hospital mindset” quote, Buffer, which has fewer than 10 employees, is showing that you don’t need a huge staff to do it well.

Don’t be afraid to innovate

Non-Profits have a Charter to be Innovators http://t.co/ejZCucRS  (opens in a new tab) excellent post from @ThisIsSethsblog  (opens in a new tab) #assnchat  (opens in a new tab) #asae  (opens in a new tab) #eventprofs  (opens in a new tab)

— Team Slice Works (@sliceworks) December 11, 2012  (opens in a new tab)

That Seth Godin sure is something, isn’t he? Godin is so well known that if you search for the word “blog,” he shows up on the first page of your Google search, with such luminaries as Twitter and the White House. (Try it  (opens in a new tab), we’re not kidding.) There’s a reason for that: He nails the smart points and then some. For example, here’s Godin talking innovation for nonprofits: “Nonprofit failure is too rare, which means that nonprofit innovation is too rare as well,” he says. “Innovators understand that their job is to fail, repeatedly, until they don’t.” Do you take a lot of risks at your nonprofit? (ht @sliceworks  (opens in a new tab))

What cool stuff have you seen online today? Let us know in the comments.

(iStockphoto/Thinkstock)